Yesterday, I made a trip to Vadodara. First halt was at Hotel Surya Palace where I was there especially to visit the hotel management school being run by a very dear friend and his wife. This Hotel School is affiliated to a university in Switzerland. I cam across some beautiful premises well executed, a practical kitchen, learned faculty and a very good bunch of smart and enthusiastic students. I spoke to the students and the faculty, wished them well, complimented the management and came out impressed.
The second halt was at a factory to make frozen food , mainly for exports belonging to the same group. I was amazed to this state of the art factory being run by this 27 year old lad with such a vision and clarity. We had to remove all our accessories before entering the production area and we were covered from head to toe with protective clothing’s including a mask.
It was the same scene inside with all the employees as if we were in a pharmaceutical company. This standard was as good as any other premium factory in a developed country or to match HACCAP or ISO standards. Food was being made by Chefs and then it was packaged and blast frozen in a very scientific and methodical way. Post that I shared my lunch with the owner and a colleague of mine in the factory itself, most efficiently served. The only speciality about the lunch was that it was made 5 months ago and everything was tasting fresh and tasty. Then we had a photo session with all the staff. From here also I came out very happy and impressed. Things are actually happening in towns other than metros.
Already late by 2 hours I proceeded to my next destination Ahmedabad. Here, I was to finalise a place for my restaurant brand ‘The Yellow Chilli’s‘ next outlet. Post doing that, by midnight I was back to my Karam bhoomi – Mumbai.
Till I write again.
Sanjeev Kapoor
From My Kitchen 